Men of Action
by StrawberryLemonaddict
Summary: See what the Danville kids are up to at college! When Ferb and Gretchen start becoming closer, will that inspire Phineas to figure something out with Isabella? These friends may have known each other for a long time, but that doesn't mean they won't learn new things about each other. *Title subject to change, because I have FOMO about everything*
1. Chapter 1

**I've been watching a lot of cartoons this summer, and watching Phineas and Ferb was just hilarious and nostalgic. I think because they are kids for the whole show, there is a lot of leeway (is that how that word is spelled? hehe) in how people can write and interpret how they grow up. My inspirations for this story are a fusion of some of my college experiences and how I think/wish some of these couples could get started. I'll let you know in advance, I intend for this to mainly be a Phineas/Isabella story but I feel like I need to give the other characters some appreciation too. Ferb/Gretchen is another main pairing but I apologize if this goes off track (I just want all the friends to be included :) ).**

 **This is my first multi-chapter story, and I will try my best to keep writing! I do not own "Phineas and Ferb" or any other entities/franchises that may be mentioned in this story. I hope you enjoy!**

After a few more adventurous and amazing summers, Danville Tri-State University gained several promising freshmen. Phineas Flynn, Ferb Fletcher, and some of their good friends surprisingly were not too salty about summer coming to an end, but instead way more excited to start a new time in their lives at college. Phineas and Ferb, while at first discussing with their family about each rooming with someone new, ended up deciding that it would be way more fun to live together and knew they would have no problems meeting new people. Even better, the boys were happy to hear that their friends, Isabella, Gretchen, and Buford, would be attending as well! Move-in day was emotional for the kids' parents, but they took comfort knowing that their kids had grown up to be responsible, independent, and loyal to each other.

The first few weeks of school were fresh and exciting for the Danville kids, as freshman year of college tends to be. Along with meeting other nice and interesting people, they were adjusting to things like sharing a bathroom with 10 people, seeing students playing wacky musical instruments on the quad, and eating pizza at 2 in the morning. Phineas and Ferb lived in the same building as Buford and his roommate, Dave, whom the boys hit it off with since meeting each other. Isabella and her best friend Gretchen were roommates, naturally, in a building a short distance away from the boys', and when their schedules allowed, they would all get dinner or play some volleyball together.

One evening at dinner, Phineas had just finished his third slice of pizza before saying, "Oh wait guys, I almost forgot! Ferb and I are inviting you all to our place for a movie night this Friday!"

"Yay!" "Aweome!" "Sounds cool, dude." Ferb gave a small smile.

"What movie are we gonna watch?" asked Isabella.

"Well, we were thinking of _Space Adventure 2: Another Adventure in Space._ What do you guys think?"

"Sounds good!" "The first one is better, but alright!" "Nice."

"I haven't seen that one," Dave said.

Ferb's eyes widened. "Dude, you gotta see it! No comparison to the first, but still needa see it," Buford exclaimed.

"Cool, can't wait guys! Uh hey Ferb, are you gonna eat those fries?" Too late to say anything, not that Ferb would anyway, because Phineas had already stolen some.

* * *

Dave had become pretty exhausted this week. He didn't understand how waking up for 9 a.m. classes could be so hard when he used to get up much earlier for high school. And Calc had been a struggle too; it's already Dave's worst subject (but also a requirement) and it's not like he practiced over summer. It's summer! Summer is for swimming, not derivatives! That's why he was excited for the movie night tonight, just relaxing with his new buddies. He and Buford were getting on really well; they both had similar schedules and hated waking up early, so they helped in waking each other up on schooldays. Buford didn't smell bad or anything which was a plus, and he included Dave in almost everything that he did. Dave thought it was cool of him to introduce him to his friends from home; they seemed pretty quirky and had funny hair colors, but they were chill.

After waking up from a two hour nap and deciding to put off laundry until tomorrow, Dave combed his fingers through his brown hair, changed his shirt, and headed to the convenience store to grab some chips before heading to Phineas and Ferb's with Buford.


	2. Chapter 2

"Ohhh I don't know, ahh!" Isabella was dashing back and forth in her small dorm trying on outfit after outfit, with panic on her face.

"Hey, it's okay, it's just a movie. With other people. There's nothing to worry about!" Gretchen, trying to calm her down like she's done many times before.

Isabella stopped and looked to the floor. "I know Gretchen. I don't know why I'm freaking out so much. I mean, I guess it's just hanging out as a group like we always do. I just need to be normal. But, well you know . . . even though Phineas and I have been friends forever, I can't help that I still get overexcited sometimes. I am so glad you're gonna be there too."

"Haha, you know I got your back! Just, don't worry about Phineas tonight. Just think of this as a fun get-together with your friends, who you have a lot of fun with, watching silly movies and eating junk food. Or at the very least, an opportunity to hang out with me as we watch the boys do something ridiculous!"

"True, you're so right." Isabella smiled. "I think I'll just wear my comfy sweatpants."

* * *

"Hey Ferb, can you toss me some Command strips?" The green-haired boy gracefully chucked some at his step-brother. They were setting up some string lights, moving furniture around, and clearing their desks to act as snack tables. While they had a little less space, and authority, for building huge things like they did when they were younger, they'd be damned if they didn't transform their dorm into a miniature movie theater-like oasis.

Hearing heavy knocks on the door, Ferb answers it finding Buford and Dave, greeting them with a fist bump. "Hey guys!" says Phineas.

"'Sup Phineas, Ferb. We brought snacks," Buford states, tossing the bag of chips at Phineas. "Cool, thanks guys!" he replies.

"Hey Phineas! What'cha doin'?" He turns around to see Isabella and Gretchen at the door, holding some bottles of soda. A smile grows on his face as he grabs it, "Awesome, I love root beer, thanks! I'll go put them next to the other ones." Isabella's burst of happiness suddenly faded with that statement, realizing everyone, not just she, remembered Phineas' favorite soda. _Oh, other ones. . . Cool, cool_.

The group settled in, snacks in hand, ready to watch the sequel to their favorite intergalactic movie. Phineas and Buford sat on Phineas' bed, which was now horizontally against a wall, along with Isabella sitting on the floor in between them, her back against said bed. Gretchen was perched in a bean bag under the window, and Ferb sat up straight in his desk chair, allowing Dave to stretch his legs out on his bed.

"So, Space Adventure-virgin, what did ya think?" Buford asked Dave once the film ended.

"Hey, hey, I saw the first one! And it was alright, not bad but you're right, first one's better." Dave replied.

"Should we make this a movie marathon and put something else on?" Phineas asked his friends.

"Hmm, we could, but what about other stuff? We could play cards, or Scrabble or something!" Isabella said. Buford snorted.

"Heh Scrabble? No thanks. Maybe cards, but what's on TV?" he said. After flipping through and arguing just a bit (minus Ferb), the friends agreed on a funny cartoon about a dark-haired family running a burger restaurant and getting into shenanigans together.

Phineas noticed that he was getting distracted every now and then. He wasn't paying attention to what they were watching at times, and instead his gaze would drift to Isabella's messy bun, which revealed a bunch of cute little wispy hairs on the back of her neck. Sitting behind her, he was unconsciously more compelled to look at her because she couldn't see. While he has always enjoyed Isabella's sprightly personality, it was interesting, but nice, to see her relaxed. When they were younger, Isabella looked her very best on the daily, with her violet dress and hair done up with a bow. Now, she looked simply comfortable in sweatpants, sitting against his bed and watching television together. His gaze went down her neck to her shoulder. Whatever happened on the TV must have been funny, because Isabella started laughing just then. This brought Phineas' attention to her chest moving with laughter and some of her skin exposed from a V-neck that he only just noticed she was wearing. At least his blush was concealed by the darkness of the room.

His ear caught a snippet of the others' conversation, "It's just so annoying that school basically just started and I'm already struggling with Econ," Gretchen told the others. Wanting to show that he was actually paying attention and not staring at Isabella ( _lies_ ), Phineas inquired, "Which Econ class is that, Gretchen?"

"Intermediate Micro," she said. "Actually, I'm in that class as well." Everyone turned to Ferb, after hearing this rare statement.

"You are? I'm so sorry Ferb, I can't believe I didn't realize!" Gretchen apologized. Ferb just held up his hand as a forgiving and understanding gesture. "How is it for you, is it easy?" Ferb shrugged. _So, probably. It's probably a piece of cake for him,_ Gretchen thought. "Do you think, well if you have the time, could you possibly help me out a bit with the homework and stuff?"

After a moment, Ferb nodded.

"Thank you! Please tell me someone else here is having trouble, too. . ." she said.

Dave answered right away, "Are you kidding? Math is kicking my ass." Gretchen giggled, glad that she wasn't alone.

The group suddenly heard a grumbling sound, which happened to be Buford's stomach. He smiled slowly, slightly embarrassed. "Anyone wanna order some calzones with me? Apparently, I'm starving."

* * *

Sunday found Gretchen and Isabella taking a stroll around downtown enjoying the sunny day. One of the lessons being a Fireside Girl had taught them was to not procrastinate and get tough work out of the way, so the girls had already finished their assignments earlier. After browsing around some of the shops, they went to the coffee shop next.

". . . I'm just saying, after season two-ish, the whole show just got so much more serious and they dropped the funny bits. And season four was just a mess. They had like three different villains, it's too confusing," Isabella was saying to Gretchen as they got to the counter, discussing the ups and downs of their beloved supernatural TV show.

"Hi, could I have a medium vanilla iced coffee please?" "You sure can, that'll be $3.75," the attractive boy at the counter said. Isabella paid and went to wait for her drink.

"I'd like a small peach iced tea, please." Gretchen ordered and went to where her friend was waiting.

"I agree with you that they're just making everything complicated with the villains, but they probably do that to keep everyone engaged and make us pay attention. But I do like that it focuses a little on everyone now, it doesn't seem like only one person matters, like in the first few seasons, but a bunch of people matter equally and it's more interesting," Gretchen continued regarding their earlier conversation.

Isabella nodded, then picked up her drink as she saw it being placed on the counter. Then, she giggled and raised her eyebrows as she turned her cup around towards Gretchen. The guy who took their orders, who apparently was named Nate, wrote his name and phone number on her cup. Gretchen giggled too, "Wow, look at you, getting coffee boys' numbers."

"Oh stop," Isabella said with laughter. Seeing a peach iced tea, she handed it to Gretchen. "Thanks babe," Gretchen said as she took it. Curious, she turned her cup all the way around, and saw nothing but PCH TEA written on it. _Nothing, squat. Not that it matters, 'cause it's a random thing, but what the hell, no one wants to give me their number?! I guess only Izzy can get that attention. Oh my god Gretchen, stop who cares._

Still looking back and forth from Isabella's flirty cup to her own, Gretchen said as they walked out of the shop, "So . . . you gonna call him?"

Isabella made a surprised face, as if it didn't even cross her mind to do so since seeing the number. "I don't think so."

"So that's not something you're _gonna do today_ ," Gretchen replied, feeling sassy. It took a moment for Isabella to realize the spin-off of Phineas' classic _"Hey Ferb, I know what we're gonna do today!"_ and then she snorted. "No that is not something I'm gonna do today and that's not why!" The girls laughed and they walked back to campus to relax on the grass.


	3. Chapter 3

Ferb woke up at 9:00 am, as he did every Tuesday and Thursday, and started his routine as he got ready to go to his Economics class. His brother was already gone for the day, his classes starting earlier and unluckily located a bit farther away than Ferb's. He decided to wear some khaki pants with a navy short-sleeved button up shirt. After washing his face and brushing his teeth, he ran his hand through his messy green hair and went to grab his backpack. Stopping by the convenience store, he bought a croissant, his favorite easy breakfast food, and walked to class.

Arriving 10 minutes early with a handful of others in the class, he went to sit at his usual spot on the middle right side of the room. He set up his laptop and then checked his phone to see texts from his dad of new antique pieces he and Linda had found and were very excited about. He had just replied to his dad when he suddenly heard a "Hey, Ferb." He looked up to see Gretchen standing next to him, wearing an olive green sundress and white Converse shoes.

"Can I sit here?" she asked. "Yeah," Ferb replied.

* * *

Quietly tiptoeing around the room, trying to get ready without waking up Isabella, Gretchen rushed, wishing class didn't start this early and she could go back to sleep. Since it was still warm outside, she put on a cute casual green dress that she got while she was traveling in London with her family. She loved the fashion there and it inspired her to test her comfort zone when it came to her own clothes. She didn't wear dresses often, but when she did she felt awesome and super comfortable. Too lazy to shower the night before, she spritzed some dry shampoo in her auburn hair and threw it in a high ponytail. Checking the time, she was a little bummed that she didn't have time to put on any makeup, but she adjusted her glasses and headed out.

She walked up the steps to her class, sighing with relief as she realized she still had about 7 minutes left. Ponytail swinging, she entered the room, keeping an eye out for her green haired buddy. She had felt terrible for not noticing that he was in the same class ( _but then again, I'm still half asleep when I'm there and I sit at the front so I can't see who's behind me)._ She found him, and suddenly got a little nervous. _Should I ask him if I can sit or if it's taken? Or do I just sit there 'cause we know each other and it shouldn't be weird? But we don't know each other_ that _well, should I be extra polite anyway? Ugh, I'm so awkward._

"Hey, Ferb" He looked up and Gretchen got more nervous when she remembered that him not talking might make it difficult to assess the situation. "Can I sit here?" she asked. That nervous feeling was washed away when he actually spoke, and simply said "Yeah" with a small smile.

"Thanks," she said, as she sat down and got her stuff out. "So . . . do you think he'll actually end class on time today?" she asked Ferb, regarding their nice but oblivious professor who would never seem to notice that class was over and would continue the lesson as students awkwardly got up to leave.

"I'm not sure, it's bound to happen one day, though," Ferb replied.

* * *

". . . and don't forget that your homework for this week is due online on Thursday night!" the professor said to whoever was left in the classroom, as he had run over class time once again.

Gretchen was packing up quickly, hoping to not be late to her next class, when Ferb tapped her on the shoulder and asked, "So when did you want to take a look at the homework?"

 _Oh I almost forgot about that! It's nice he remembered._ "Maybe tomorrow at like 6 or 7? What's good for you?"

"Seven works fine for me," he replied.

"Okay cool, I gotta go, bye Ferb!" Gretchen said as she scurried out of the door, and missed Ferb wave goodbye.

* * *

Lots of noises were coming from a certain table in the dining hall. Potato chips crunching, root beer slurping, and Snapchat stories playing, Buford van Stomm was blissfully unaware of how indiscreet his lunch break was being. He was watching a video that Baljeet, his "bully victim" turned best friend, sent him. Baljeet was attending university in India to be near his extended family and to help them part time with their rubber band business.

"They just never get sick of it! It's the only song I hear them sing!" Baljeet said as he showed his grandfather and co. in the background singing _rubber bands, rubber bands . . ._

Buford chuckled out loud, and when he looked up from his phone to grab more food, he saw a pair of frustrated hazel eyes on him. The eyes belonged to a girl with shoulder-length blonde hair who was eating at a nearby table. Her elbows were on the table with her hands folded under her chin, which was where Buford noticed her sweatshirt sleeves were too long and covered her hands. For some reason he thought this was cute. He looked up from her covered hands to her face. She was pretty, but still had an annoyed expression from Buford's loud-ass lunch that had bothered her.

Noticing that they were having an awkward stare-a-thon, each for different reasons, Buford mumbled an ineffective "Sorry" realizing he was bothering her, and the girl's expression softened just the slightest bit as she turned her head back around to continue her conversation with her friends. Buford put his phone face down and finished his lunch quietly with a light blush on his face.

* * *

As 6:45 rolled around the next day, Isabella returned to her dorm after dinner to see Gretchen hurrying around the room shoving shoes under her bed, fixing her covers, and trying to lessen the mess of their room.

"Um, am I forgetting about something that's happening that you possibly told me about before?" Isabella asked her roommate.

"Haha, kind of. Yes. Ferb is coming over in a little bit so we can do Econ homework together," Gretchen replied. "I need to make room so that he can actually sit somewhere."

"True, okay I'll make my side more presentable."

* * *

 _Something smells really good right now. I can't put my finger on it though. It's not food or anything like that, something that isn't usually present in our room._ Inhale. _What the fuck, its sooo good!_

"So for number 6, what do you think happens to the budget set when cost of good 1 decreases but the budget stays the same?" Realizing she was zoning out, Gretchen looked at Ferb and then at the computer screen, trying to remember what they were working on. Grabbing her notebook, she willed her hand to draw a graph to help her not feel like an idiot.

"The budget set is this whole triangle under the line. So, if one good is cheaper and I have the same amount of money to spend on two goods, that means I have enough money to buy more of good 1. In total I'll be buying more things." Gretchen thought aloud.

Ferb nodded, "So what happens to the graph then?"

"I can buy more of good 1, so the line extends outwards on that axis and the budget set is larger."

"Yep, you're exactly right. I don't know who told you that you can't do economics, because it seems to me you've got it." Ferb said with a smile. Gretchen smiled back, grateful for his reassurance.

They went on with the rest of the problems, Ferb politely explaining some of the more difficult concepts, and Gretchen even pointing out a few corrections to him here and there. With Isabella down the hall hanging out with their neighbors, it left only Ferb and Gretchen in the girls' room. For the most part, the two had never spent time alone; it was always with the whole gang or at least a few other friends around. It was a good time though: it was more enjoyable to do homework with a buddy than alone, and the two of them had similar demeanors in that they weren't outgoing but connected well with close friends and were good listeners.

As they scooted closer to work on the homework more easily, Gretchen noticed that smell from earlier had become more intense. She was losing focus from econ because it smelled that good. Shaggy green hair came into her view. _Holy shit, is it really Ferb? He smells really nice oh my god._ She looked at his face, which was looking down towards his notebook, focused on being scholarly and such. She imagined his strong nose and relaxed mouth and green hair much closer to her face. Adjusting her legs, she noticed that they were sitting on her bed and then imagined, not sitting, but laying on the bed together, with no homework being done at all. Only briefly did Gretchen's mind run wild, then she came back to her senses and hoped her face wasn't too pink.

Ferb felt Gretchen's bed move as she adjusted to sit more comfortably. He saw that she moved her legs out in front of her from their previous "criss cross applesauce" position, and her head was rested back against the wall. Her computer was on her lap, but she was clearly starting to get tired-either from work or just in general-because her hands were rested just before the keyboard and her eyes kept closing accidentally. She looked like her body couldn't decide whether to stay awake or just give in and take a quick nap. It was funny and Ferb thought of the fact that he usually doesn't see girls like this. Candace was pretty different from Gretchen; Candace was loud. You always knew was she was thinking, because she would make it known to everyone. Most things Candace did were with great enthusiasm; the only times this wasn't the case was maybe when she was sick or very sad for some reason. At the moment, Gretchen was different from that: not meaning that she was sad (nothing appeared to have made her down anyways), but just that she did things calmly and allowed herself to relax. She was a rational girl who allowed others their time to shine and reserved different moments for enthusiasm and calmness. A half-falling asleep Gretchen was an interesting sight to look at considering Ferb knew a lot of loud people in his life.

His notebook slid down onto something-Gretchen's leg. She didn't notice, and as he went to grab it, his hand brushed her leg. She was wearing shorts so her legs were bare and, Ferb noticed, quite soft. He unknowingly let his hand linger until he looked up and their eyes met. Gretchen's eyes widened slightly in surprise and Ferb took his hand (and notebook) away quickly.

"Hey guys, whatcha doin'?" Ferb and Gretchen jumped as Isabella opened the door. "Hehe, sorry didn't mean to scare you."

Twenty minutes later, the homework was finished and Ferb bid the girls goodbye. In the few minutes it took to walk back to his dorm, his hand felt like it craved something Ferb hadn't thought much about before.


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry this took so long to go up! This chapter was inspired by a game one of my best friends taught me, although I've never played it quite like how these guys did ;) I hope you enjoy it, I'm still practicing my writing.**

He couldn't see anything past the curtain of black hair. She was lying on top of him and her hair was left down and covered his whole face. Not that he needed to look at anything besides her anyways. He let out a small sigh, because now two fingers were stroking his ear. Who would've thought, but it was super sexy.

He found her lips, and shyly went for them. Without hesitation, as if it were natural, she responded eagerly. They kissed for a while, heavy breaths here and there, teeth nipping every so often, hands tangled in hair always. He separated from her mouth and moved down, slowly licking in one big stroke on her neck. She sighed, and he felt euphoric. She moved her hands to caress his butt, and he had to leave her neck to tend to her lips again. She rested her hands on his thighs, and he grabbed her hips.

Then she broke away and stared into his eyes, "Phineas. . . Let's do this."

"Mmm, Isabeeellaa. . ." he murmured with closed eyes.

"Let's . . . Let's get chicken nuggets," she whispered. Her eyes closed again, "P-Pinky is the manager at the chicken place now so I can get chicken nuggets for freeeee."

"Oooo. OH can we also get pickles?" he begged. She giggled.

 _Snap. Snap snap. CLAP CLAP CLAP CLAP!_

"Ah!" Phineas opened his eyes to see Ferb standing over him, apparently trying to wake him up.

"Good. Okay, well I'm gonna be late so I'm going. You're welcome," Ferb said.

"Thanks man, I guess I didn't hear my alarms. See you later," Phineas replied gratefully to his brother. Ferb waved then headed off.

 _Holy fuck, that dream. What the hell was that? It started out amazing, yeah no way did that happen. And then it got weird; she wanted to get chicken nuggets in the middle of that fucking moment and I was just like yeah alright oh and also pickles?! Dreams are interesting, they can be such a hodge-podge of anything._

 _But oh my god, me and Isabella. Ugh why is it slipping away? I remember it was something. . . erotic? I sound ridiculous-but it was though. I'm losing the details. I wonder if this happens to other people, having crazy vivid dreams and then they slip away once you wake up? Leaving me with only bullet points of a dream._

Phineas glanced at his phone again, it was 9:27. "What am I doing? I don't have time for this, shit I need to go!" He darted out of bed, and dashed about his room, rushing to get ready to at least not be too late to class.

* * *

Dave and Buford were chowing down on their cheesesteaks when they saw Isabella sit down. In unison, the boys looked up, mouths full of cheesesteak, and nodded their hellos to her. During breaks between classes throughout the week, the friends would grab lunch together, with whoever else had a break at the same time. Today, the lunch crew was Dave, Buford, Isabella, and Phineas, the latter still on his way.

"How are you guys?" Isabella asked the boys.

"Eh, okay. We just took an exam for bio so we'll see how that goes," Dave said, regarding the required science class that he and his roommate decided to take together.

"Ooh, well good luck, I'm sure you did fine." She felt the vibrations of the chair next to her being pulled out and looked up. "Oh, hey Phineas!"

"Hey guys."

As they were all discussing how their classes were going, clubs they were joining, etc., Phineas bent his head to take a bite of his pasta when he glanced left and noticed what Isabella was eating: chicken nuggets.

His eyes went wide and he turned back away to just focus on eating.

"So, we're gonna have a party at our place on Friday, so tell Gretchen and Ferb," Buford said.

"Aw fun, I'll definitely be there, and I'll tell Gretchen!" "Yeah same here, can't wait."

"Awesome. Next order of business: is there anything in particular you guys want to drink?" Dave inquired.

"Wait what? I mean yeah but how are you guys even getting stuff?" Isabella asked, surprised.

Buford chimed in, "My cousin goes here, and she's old enough and said she'd get me stuff."

"Nice! Well, I don't really know 'cause I haven't tried much," Phineas said.

"Can you get some coconut rum?" This request came from an excited Isabella. The boys looked at her in disbelief.

"Wait Isabella, you drink? Since when?" Phineas was taken aback, Isabella was one of his best friends, if she had had alcohol, she would tell him about it. _Or maybe not, I guess._

"Oh, not that much. I only had some over the summer. My dad let me have some with him. It was pretty good, I had it with cranberry juice and soda."

 _Okay so it's not really a big deal then. But still, would've been interesting to hear about._

Phineas' thoughts were interrupted by Buford's planning. "Sounds good, I'll ask her. The rest will be a surprise then. Anyways I gotta go, I have to meet for a group project, see ya guys Friday!"

* * *

"Alright guys, this game is called Pizza Box! Step one: order and eat a pizza-we've done that. So I'm gonna unfold the box like this and everyone has to write their name on it and circle it. And so what we do is we each take turns and flip a coin onto the pizza box. If it lands on a name, that person has to drink. If it lands on an empty spot on the box, you create a new rule and circle it. So later on if someone lands on a rule, they have to do it. If the coin lands on the floor-well I guess you just drink."

Everyone was writing their names as Buford was explaining said game that he was clearly very excited about. It had been an hour or so into his and Dave's party and it was chill-just the small group of friends hanging out after a long week, and doing new things together. They were all at least buzzed for the most part and taking turns on who chose the music.

"Okay, who's startin'?"

"I will," said Gretchen. She took the quarter and flipped it. It landed on a blank space. Grabbing the marker, she pondered for a bit and then- _Do a little dance._

"Nice, nice" . . . etc. Regardless, she took a sip of her drink anyways.

Next up was Isabella, who flipped onto Gretchen's name. "AHH" from the group as Gretchen took a shot of rum.

Buford flipped onto a blank space. "Well I like to make things interesting" he said as he wrote- _Take someone's article of clothing and switch with your own._ "Oh shit…!" from the group. He handed the quarter to Dave.

Dave's flip landed on Ferb. Everyone cheered as Ferb took a big swig of beer.

Next was Phineas' turn. Landing on _Do a little dance_ , he blushed and slowly stood up in defeat, the friends giggling. Clearly not knowing what to do, he just kinda bobbed his head a little, to which everyone booed. He sighed, then shook his butt a little, in a silly way like in the chicken dance. Everyone clapped and he sat down. Phineas passed the coin to his brother.

Ferb flipped and landed on Buford's rule- _Take someone's article of clothing and switch with your own._ The group was on the edge of their seats-would Ferb even do it at all? Ignoring the others and feeling empowered by the alcohol, he smirked just a little and started unbuckling his belt. He slid it off and set it on the floor. His friends' eyes went wide. He then looked to the left and went closer to that person. He looked at Gretchen in the face and slowly lifted her scarf off of her neck, and then wrapped it around his own neck. Next, Ferb grabbed his belt, scooted close to her, and wrapped his belt around her waist and buckled it. Slowly, his eyes went from her waist back up to her face to see that she was blushing a lot. His gaze lingered a second more before he turned back away, feeling strangely satisfied.

It was Gretchen's turn again. She almost forgot, her mind being thrown after that whole business Ferb just did. It was brief and only for a game, but it was exhilarating. When he was putting his belt on her, his head was bent and she caught a whiff of his magnetic smell again. And why her? He could've gone easy and changed socks with Phineas or something like that. But no, he did something so not-Ferb and went all sexy on her. Wait, sexy? Glancing at him again, she thought: possibly.

She flipped and landed on Phineas' name. Per Isabella's recommendation, he took another shot of coconut rum and the friends cheered.

Isabella's flip came up blank, so it was her turn to make a rule. Tipsy Isabella thought it was a good idea to write- _Give someone a lap dance._

Buford also landed on a blank space and his second rule was- _Call Candace and tell her she's "busted."_ Everyone in the room, except for Dave, cracked up. Wiping tears out of his eyes and calming down from laughing, Phineas turned to Dave and explained: "Candace is our older sister, and when we all were younger we would build things and have adventures, and she would always try to tell our mom and "bust us." It's not like we were doing anything bad, I think Candace just wanted someone to believe her but her timing was never good I guess. Anyway, it was crazy how much she wanted to bust us though, haha-she even made a song about it!"

"Damn, that's hilarious," Dave replied as he grabbed the quarter from Buford and flipped it. He turned a pointed at Isabella: "Drink girl." Giggling, she took a swig of her drink.

Phineas flipped and thought that he was doing a lot of dancing tonight when he got Isabella's new rule. He was nervous for a brief moment, but he was drunk enough that he was then smiling and had little fear. He started to get up, thinking of who to dance on. There were so many choices, but also so few. While he knew Gretchen for his whole life, she wasn't as close to him that he felt he could give her a lap dance without making her feel uncomfortable. Similar with Dave. There were not a lot of female choices. Everyone would think it'd be funny if he jokingly danced on Buford, and he could always count on Ferb as his cop-out. But he knew who he actually wanted to dance on.

"Izzy I'm comin' over there."

Isabella's face turned pink and was nervous but mostly excited. This is what she liked about college; having new experiences with old friends and new. Experiences without parental supervision. You learn new things every day, so many surprises, even about people you've known your whole life. It was exciting and kept her on her toes.

Phineas walked over to her to the beat of the song, well sort of, and she giggled. Not knowing what to do, he just stood in front of her and kind of moved his butt from left to right, then did some bad twerking attempts. As the rest jokingly booed him, he threw any fucks given out the window. No longer standing up and feet away from Isabella, Phineas got down on his knees and came up closer to her. He rocked his hips back and forth; comer closer to Isabella and then away, over and over. Heat came over Isabella and her face became more serious.

Now, Phineas was practically straddling Isabella's sitting form and his dancing torso and hips were so close to meeting Isabella's. He finally looked up into her eyes and their gaze was held for a second. Phineas ended his lap dance with one brush of his hand in her dark hair, and then the dancing stopped and he returned to his original seat.

The rest of the group lightly clapped and cheered Phineas, while Isabella was just wanting her beating heart to calm down. She looked over at Phineas and he just- looked so… un-Phineas-like. How he calmly did that was beyond her. It was intriguing. Some Phineas-giddiness from her childhood that she had put away started resurfacing, and she wasn't mad at it. Now she tried to stop herself from grinning so much.

Her attention was brought back to the group as Ferb was flipping for his next turn. Everyone was baffled at what Ferb would possibly come up with, as he landed on a blank space on the box.

 _Lick a neck._

Oooo's and aahhhh's came from the group. Gretchen looked at Ferb curiously. She was learning much about him tonight, that he's probably not as reserved and boring as people thought he was.

It was her turn next. She flipped and also had to create a rule. Curious about what these friends of hers, and herself, would say, she wrote _–Tell someone what you think is physically attractive about him/her._

Next, Isabella flipped and landed on the rule Gretchen just created. Too afraid at the moment to tell Phineas how his sultry gaze during his dance made her whole body weak, she decided to go the friendly route and looked to her left.

"Buford, I think you have a very nice smile. You light up the room and it's just so charming!" she said cheerily, a throwback to her Fireside Girl days.

"Aww thanks Isabella, that's so nice of ya," Buford said, smiling said smile and appreciating the compliment.

Tipsy Phineas was slightly annoyed at this. No, he did not believe Isabella was falling for Buford or anything of the sort, but he did something brave and basically grinded on her moments earlier for this game and thought that maybe she'd put herself out there too. But maybe it was just a delusion.

Buford flipped and got Ferb's rule, and he just did not know which neck to lick. Then he went to his roommate and said, "Alrighty Dave, this'll be fast." Buford licked Dave's neck quickly and then both cracked up. Buford then gestured towards said neck and announced, "Well ladies, this is a very nice neck if I do say so myself, quite smooth. And, there's a nice face attached to it too."

The girls giggled and Dave swatted him away, "Don't listen to him, he's just playin' around."

Dave then flipped for his turn and was intrigued when he landed on a blank space. He thought a little, then wrote – _Throw bedroom eyes at the person of MY (Dave's) choosing._

"Aww what" "Your choosing?" "Omg"

"Hey hey guys, it's not the worst and you forget that you all are used to each other, I still have a lot of bonding with you guys to catch up on," Dave said with a chuckle.

Phineas took the coin from him and soon landed on his first blank space of the game. He had no idea what rule to create. He was looking at what his friends came up with and suddenly felt too safe in comparison. The rules so far weren't too crazy but all of his friends were trying to push each other's boundaries and bond in a new way. It was intriguing and kinda fun in the butterflies in your stomach sort of way, which Phineas never would have thought of on his own. He never would have thought to learn new things about his friends; knowing them forever, he would have assumed there was nothing to learn. But this learning was fun, and he didn't want to be the safe one all the time.

 _Fuck, Marry, Kill_ , he wrote.

"Haha whoa, is this for like celebrities or our group?" Buford asked.

"Our group. Us right here," Phineas said right away. He knew this wasn't the biggest risk and it was a game, but he was curious for what he would learn.

Ferb was up next and landed, how he'd secretly hoped, on his own rule: _Lick a neck._ With nervous excitement, he turned to Gretchen and spoke quietly, "Um, do I have permission to lick you?" Everyone's eyes went wide, and in addition, Gretchen's pulse quickened.

Looking each other in the eyes now, she barely let out "Yeah."

The green haired boy scooted closer and brushed her hair out of the way with his hand to reveal her neck. One second of hesitation passed, and then Gretchen felt warm lips on her neck. They parted to release Ferb's even warmer tongue, which took one slow and agonizingly amazing swipe up her flesh. Gretchen's eyes closed and her mouth opened slightly, failing at hiding her delight. Unnecessary but everything, Ferb ended his lick with a tiny, just noticeable peck on her skin.

Feeling cool air on her skin, Gretchen realized that this moment was finished. She almost thought it was a joke, unreal, until Ferb sat back up and she noticed that his lips glistened after that whole thing.

She then heard some snapping. "Gretchen, it's your turn now," Phineas said.

She grabbed the coin and her flip landed on her own rule: _Do a little dance._ She sighed and then stood up. Drunkenly, she started swaying to the song that was playing, circling her torso and hips. Just a little bit, she let go and a smile grew on her face. Her eyes closed, so she didn't see Ferb's eyes staring at her with-uh, interest.

Dave saw this and chuckled to himself. They didn't even need his help.

Gretchen finally decided it was time to sit down and everyone clapped. She handed the coin to her best friend.

Isabella flipped and landed on Dave's bedroom eyes rule. She looked over at him and asked, "Okay who's my victim?"

"Gretchen, please," he responded. While the boys all turned their heads curiously towards her, she thought this would be a piece of cake.

She looked at Gretchen, who was trying to hold back a laugh. Isabella was trying to make what her idea of a 'sexy face' was, but she and Gretchen kept bursting into laughter.

Dave chimed in, "Okay I take that back, that doesn't count. So um, how about Phineas over here?"

Her giggles stopped. She breathed in and looked Phineas' way. She didn't know how she was supposed to feel tonight. Over the years, she had sort of moved on from her crush on him, but still always appreciating his presence. She liked to think of it as this: there are plenty of other guys that exist and if something happens with them that's super cool, but if Phineas was ever up for it and let her know, she wouldn't turn him away and she'd allow her inner younger self to rejoice. But she had not actively pursued him since they were little.

With this game and the alcohol inside them, and with the excitement of college, Isabella thought maybe it would be interesting just to see what a tiny bit of encouragement would get her. Feeling the giddiness of her younger days mixing with a newfound mature feeling of lust, she really looked at him.

And her eyes melted and burned him.

He felt himself panting slightly and was momentarily taken into a world where this was real. As if it wasn't just a game among his friends initiated by the flip of a coin, but rather it was only the two of them, and she looked at him just like this by the power of her own desire. Internally, he begged.

Isabella was shaken from her action as Phineas reacted to her, staring back at her with, if she didn't know any better, might have been want or lust.

Someone coughed, who knows who it was. She passed the coin to Buford and glanced at the floor.

Buford flipped and landed on his first rule which brought laughter from everyone.

"Okay, one of you two give me your phone," he said to Phineas and Ferb, hand outstretched.

"What why?" Phineas said.

"'Cause how am I supposed to bust Candace if I don't have her number? She's not my sister," Buford sassed.

Phineas handed him his phone, "Oh I kinda forgot that detail."

Everyone was trying to hold back their laughter and tears as Buford called. Candace must have been asleep because she didn't answer, but Buford left a message.

"Hey Candace, this is Buford and I'm just calling to say YOU'RE SO BUSTED!" He hung up, chucked the phone at Phineas and prayed that Candace would take mercy on him later.

Dave took his turn and got one of Gretchen's rules: Tell someone what you think is attractive about them.

"Gretchen I think you have really nice hair. It just looks great on you," Dave said truthfully.

Gretchen felt shy at the compliment, "Oh, well thanks" she replied with a smile. _Who knew my own rule used against me would feel so nice?_

Dave passed the coin to Phineas, and his flip landed on his own name. With that he took a shot, then gave the coin to Ferb.

But he then stood up and handed it to Gretchen. "I'll skip my turn as I really need to use the toilet, but here Gretchen. Don't wait up," he said before exiting the dorm room to head to the restrooms down the hall.

Gretchen flipped and got real nervous as she got Phineas' _Fuck, Marry, Kill_ rule. She wasn't sure because it would get harsh somehow, having to choose one friend over another for, well good things or bad things. Obviously, she's not killing anyone. Oh shut up, it's a game. Thinking of how she's been feeling tonight with the green-haired child who for some reason seemed to want to exhilarate her to no end, and how he was currently absent, she had her roster.

She breathed before declaring to her friends: "Fuck Ferb, Marry Isabella, Kill Phineas."

Phineas gave a big sigh of fake astonishment, "Gretchen kill me? But why?"

"For making this difficult rule that's why," she replied, and the two giggled. Everyone in the circle tried to calm their smirks, expecting this type of answer from her after seeing the way she and Ferb have been interacting all night. Had he still been sitting there though, Gretchen might have said differently. She handed the coin to Isabella.

Isabella was getting hungry, which was the reasoning for the new rule she wrote after flipping blank. She wrote – _Every time you land on this, you owe Isabella food. She can redeem this meal from you at any time._

Smiling for being the first one to think of such a genius rule, she gave the coin to Buford. Who then landed on her recent rule and she cheered, excited that it went into effect so quickly.

"Well sir, thank you for your upcoming donation to my stomach. I will see you soon," she said laughing.

Ferb came back just then and asked why Isabella was so happy.

Phineas explained, "Isabella made a rule that you have to buy her food if you land on it, and Buford landed on it just now."

"Ah, free food is always nice. Good thinking Isabella," Ferb said. Isabella gave him a thumbs up.

Dave flipped then, which directed another shot at Buford.

When Phineas flipped, Isabella rejoiced again. "HAH PHINEAS FLYNN, you also owe me food! Why did I not think of this earlier?"

He laughed and said "Well of course, can't wait."

* * *

Somehow, the gang ended up sprawled all across the floor, chatting about different things here and there. Ferb and Gretchen were snuggled together, not really talking but keeping warm in each other's presence while sleep was slowly threatening to overcome them. Gretchen was lying on her back while her arms were clutching a blanket Buford had given her and her right leg sandwiched in between Ferb's legs. Ferb was lying on his side facing her, his head propped up by his one arm, while his other arm was stroking Gretchen's hair. One of her arms that was holding the blanket was up against his chest, and along with having their legs intertwined, Ferb reveled in how close he could be with her just now. It was exciting but calming at the same time lying with her.

Nearby, Dave was lying down on the ground actively chatting with Isabella about a TV show that they both watched. She was sat up with her legs crossed at looked at ease. Phineas and Buford were chatting about news they heard recently about one company being up for grabs and which other companies they thought would possibly buy it.

Gretchen had turned around so that she and Ferb faced each other and she wrapped her other leg around him. At this point she didn't think of what she shouldn't do or what people would think or if she would be embarrassed later, but just acted freely on what she wanted. And being close to Ferb was what she wanted right now. Sleepily, her hand went up his arm and rested at his shoulder, reaching to briefly caress his back. She could hear he was breathing heavily and she probably was too. Soon, she did something close and personal, but uncommon. She looked at his face, he was looking back at her. She took her finger and poked his big nose. His eyebrows furrowed together. She touched his nose again more softly and, out loud, went "Boop."

Ferb smiled at this. It was funny and adorable, and he liked seeing Gretchen this relaxed and happy. The next moment, her eyes had closed and she looked like she was about to sleep.

"Boop."

Gretchen opened her eyes after Ferb poked her nose back. "I. . . I think I'm gonna head back now. Clearly I'm falling asleep," she told him.

"Okay," he whispered as she stood up and went to grab her purse.

"Hey Isabella, I'm gonna go home now," she told her roommate, the unasked question of whether she would be accompanying her or not.

Gretchen could see Isabella's hesitation. She probably wouldn't tell her she wasn't ready to leave yet, but didn't want her roommate going home by herself. And Gretchen didn't want to cut her friend's fun short.

"Stay, I'm good. I'll just text you when I get home," Gretchen said.

"I don't know-" said Isabella.

"I'll see her home," the girls turned to see Ferb standing up.

The girls took him up on the offer and thanked him. Ferb and Gretchen bid goodnight to their friends and headed out.

"So, anyone up for a cheese fry run?" Isabella suggested.

Dave, Phineas, and Buford nodded and the four people that still had some energy left went out for their late night yummies.


End file.
